In the past, computing applications such as computer games and multimedia applications used controllers, remotes, keyboards, mice, or the like to allow users to manipulate game characters or other aspects of an application. More recently, computer games and multimedia applications have begun employing cameras and software gesture recognition engines to provide a natural user interface (“NUT”). With NUI, user gestures are detected, interpreted and used to control game characters or other aspects of an application.
Mice and other such controllers provide a well-defined interface for interacting with computing systems. One of the challenges of NUI systems is that the interface is controlled by a user's interaction with, and perception of, the 3-D space in which they move. However, physical, societal and other personal traits make each user at least slightly different, and as such, different users interact with NUI systems in different ways. Thus, for example, where a user's performance of a gesture varies from the norm, the NUI system may not understand the user's intention. While a user's own NUI system can be tuned over time to their personal style of interaction, the user may have trouble interacting with NUI systems other than their own.
Despite presenting difficulties for a NUI system, a user's personal traits have potential benefits which at present are not being taken advantage of. For example, current systems go to lengths to ensure proper authentication of users through login protocols and passwords, but do not use the wealth of information provided by a user's personal traits for authentication purposes.